Hefty Carbon Tax Raised Norway's Emissions

Other states are watching to see how well program works

(NEWSER) - California became the first state in the nation to adopt its own cap-and-trade system yesterday, as its Air Resources Board voted unanimously to approve the regulations. The vote came after a grueling eight-hour meeting filled with the opinions of angry union members, disapproving industry representatives, and miscellaneous plan supporters, the LA Times reports. After the board finally held the vote, chairman Mary Nichols announced, “We’ve done something important.” More»

How else to explain them being OK with the exploding population?

(NEWSER) - Opponents of cap-and-trade legislation must believe that a massive plague will wipe out 2.5 billion people sometime between now and 2050. Otherwise, their stance makes no sense, writes Thomas Friedman of the New York Times . Even if you don’t believe climate change is real—and Friedman does—you can’t deny that the world is getting more crowded. According to a 2006 UN report, the population will rise 2.5 billion by 2050. More»

Fighting climate change can be profitable: Krugman

(NEWSER) - Now that Washington finally has the political will to combat climate change, opponents of environmentalism are pushing a new line: limiting emissions would do further damage to a battered economy. For Paul Krugman, those claims are "junk economics" to go with climate change deniers' "junk science." A cap-and-trade system would have costs, the New York Times columnist concedes, but going green would actually offer the country a net economic boost. More»

Heavier people weigh on planet by excess eating, driving

(NEWSER) - People's carbon footprints grow as their weight increases, Reuters reports. By eating and tending to drive more than average, the world's billion overweight people each create an extra ton of carbon emissions annually, a recent study has calculated. "When it comes to food consumption, moving about in a heavy body is like driving around in a gas guzzler," write the researchers. More»

(NEWSER) - Hillary Clinton emphasized the environment today in China as she wrapped up a weeklong visit to Asia, the New York Times reports. “When we were industrializing and growing, we didn’t know any better,” Clinton said, praising recent advances in green energy and asking for more. “We hope you won’t make the same mistakes we made.” Some analysts think energy policy is the prime issue to unite the interests of the two countries. More»